MEN; Learn to cook!!

Years of women taking care of the household, cooking and raising the kids has over-conditioned the mind of most men (especially the majority of Nigerian Men in this scenario) to believe it is their entitlement for a woman to cook for them. Most of them believe they have no business being in the kitchen and that is the 'wackest' thought process ever!!

Food is necessary for Life and Energy. Go on a Fast and you'll testify.

It is therefore a no-brainer that every HUMAN BEING (male and female) acquire this survival skill moreso after attaining the age of independence. Most Bachelors learn how to cook especially if they are broke and  don't have a nice housemate/girlfriend cooking for them every other week.

The worst bunch of entitled men are Married Men (the majority); The wives DO EVERYTHING! Hold down a 9-5 job, cook, clean, do laundry, garden, look after the kids, etc. the list is endless; and we honestly wonder why married women look worn out so fast, of course they'll age when all the load is on their shoulder. The married women who look good with all this stress on them are those that take out a lil time to pamper themselves and get some help.

The kitchen is not meant for only Women and Male Chefs/Cooks. Cooking does not make you any less 'macho'! Check out these 'Macho hotties' throwing it down in the kitchen. Men, you will not die if you cook.

The Kitchen is for everybody.

I did not learn how to cook properly till i was out of Uni and living on my own; i had to learn because i had to eat and also spare my pockets daily restaurant trips. I HATE when guys/gals say 'oh i wasn't raised cooking'. Everyone was raised differently and we all learn and change as we grow so that is not a valid excuse. I wasn't raised being in the kitchen either, i learnt the skill, so anyone (male/female) can learn especially in this 'Internet Age' (Google,YouTube, Blogs, Pinterest etc.) where all the resource (recipes, etc.) you need is available online. Check out this post for more tips on easy cooking and more.

Here's a list of EASY meals all men should at least know how to make:

• Boiled yam
• Egg sauce
• Pancake
• Fried egg
• Toast
• Sandwich
• Boiled White rice
• Spaghetti
• Stew
• Stirfry (Chicken/Beef/Veg)
• @least one kind of Sauce
• Yam porridge
• Beans porridge
• White Beans
• Fried chips/yam
• Fried plantain
• Boiled Plantain
• Grilled chicken
• Oats
• Custard
• Pap
• Peppersoup
• Swallows-Poundo,Cemo,etc.
• @least one Soup-easiest i can think of is Okro soup

Why MEN (and Women) should learn how to cook:

1. You are responsible for your welfare
2. Its a BASIC survival skill (not having to depend on someone or a place to get fed)
3. Starvation hurts. Food is essential to life
4. A Hungry Man is an Angry Man
5. Saves you money (eating out is expensive)
6. EVERYBODY loves a man that can cook.
7. Women find it sexy, oh yes we do!! You're saving us stress and feeding us a tasty meal-it don't get no better. Total libido booster
8. Your significant other/spouse is a human being and deserves a break too
9. You can fend for your significant other/spouse when ill
10. You can fend for your kids when necessary

Baby Steps to getting Comfy in the Kitchen:

1. Start by warming ready made meals (by microwave or on fire)
2. Keep your significant other company in the kitchen and Watch her cook n prepping ingredients. You can even ask questions. (if u feel the kitchen is too hot, newsflash-she's feeling hot too)
3. Help out- with prepping ingredients for cook, do the dishes, serve urself ur food,clean the cooker,etc. wen u r done.
4. Learn where the cooking ingredients and utensils are stored
5. Go to d market with her and see how she bargains and what she buys-a few trips later you will know ur way around.
6. Check out cooking blogs and YouTube vids and start practising with simple recipes-dere's soooo much resource online
7. Practise, Practise, Practise 
8. If you come across any issues or things that scare you in the kitchen, Google it or ask someone. There is always a solution, food/cooking hack, etc. Other people have faced such problems and most likely found a way around it. Check out this Twitter Thread Guys made of what they hate about cooking and solutions provided in the replies.
9. We have all had cooking disasters at one point or the other, its a learning process. Check this Twitter Thread hopefully it will ease your mind.

Most men will break down if they were to switch roles completely with their Significant Other/Wives/Mothers/Sisters and DO EVERY SINGLE THING they do for just one weekend .

I'm glad to have brothers that do not see household chores and cooking as strictly a woman's job, i happily give them recipes and take up their offers to help out around the house. Their future wives will definitely appreciate it. I pray to have a partner who helps out with regards to this and raise even better sons & daughters that can fend for themselves without feeling they are entitled to having anyone(especially Women) cater to their every whim.
The men that get on my nerves are those that want fresh food cooked 3-4 times a day but cant even fry an egg. Its just wrong mehn and in most cases even their mums never did that so i dont get the acquired taste except their owned an eatery or there was no way to store/preserve food. If your wife likes to cook fresh food all day errday, that's her prerogative and totally fine but to DEMAND that from her is just slavery. Some men wont even enter d kitchen to keep their gf/wives company talk less of doing other stuff.
I know there are women out there who do not want to see men in their kitchen, i also feel this is wrong, if a guy wants to cook please let him. It is not a taboo.

Dear Most Men(i know there are exceptions), 

Women are also human beings. We get tired, frustrated, resentful, exhausted, etc. having all the load, cooking included, solely on our shoulders. We would like to hear 'What would you like to eat dear' instead of 'What am i eating'. Please do the needful and treat us right as fellow human beings, It is not too much to ask that you at least learn this basic skill. Quit taking us for granted. You don't want to imagine how this world will be if all women go on STRIKE. Please follow the example of other good men. Thank you as you make amends from today. The women in your life will definitely appreciate it. 

I personally enjoy cooking but honestly only when i'm not under pressure or have other people's stomach's depending on me otherwise its just one of my daily chores. I will still touch on this subject when i write the post on 'MEN and House Chores' so watch out for that post.
This was a bit of a Rant but very necessary. "Women are the foot-soldiers of Patriarchy" and its about time that changed.
When men say "women go through a lot. Let's appreciate them". That's nice, but what are you doing to make the situation better?

Toodles!XooX

Naija Food the modern way and more-Dooney's Kitchen

You know how much i love my naija cooking!!! Here's one of my top faves for recipes- Dooney's Kitchen. I love how she takes her time to write her posts and put up pictures of the process for the reader to be able to understand and simulate the process easily. What i love most about her though is her knack for finding easy ways to implement otherwise stressful traditional Nigerian meals with modern equipment and ease stress and the western twists she puts on it, her presentation of the meals is also very appealing.#2014Nigerian cooking is the way forward for modern wives like me who have no interest in spending forever in the kitchen e.g. her Blender pounded yam is my top tried and tested and loved innovation, she also has the Handmixer Amala, Food processor Ojojo and Ikokore and sooo much more. She's working on a cookbook and i can't wait to have it once its out. She just joined Youtube so stay tuned for a lot of tantalizing and mouth-watering vids. You can check out her blog for loads of recipes to experiment with both Nigerian and Western dishes and her mixed creations lol. Dooney is a blessing to people like me that wanna make awesome meals but wanna do it in efficient ways leaving enough time and energy for other things after cooking is done. You'll see Blenders, Food processors and the likes put to use like never b4!

Check out my previous posts here and here on amateur cooking/healthy living and other food blogs to watch. Thank me later :)

Toodles!XooX

Healthy Living/Amateur Cooking II

Moi-moi elewe

Love Nigerian food?!
Wanna learn about them and how to make them?!!
Then totally check out the link below for the top 20 sites and blogs on how to make Nigerian food. I have gone to quite a number of them and tried out their recipes and got great results!! I'm sure u'll enjoy them.

http://www.femmelounge.org/womenwhocook-20-nigerian-food-bloggers-we-love/

Toodles!!Xoox

HEALTHY LIVING/AMATEUR COOKING I

Fruit Journey – I did 36days of eating at least 1 fruit daily in order to make a habit of eating fruits and I’ll put below of all the varieties of fruits I explored and a log of the fruits I have been eating daily.

Orange, Apple, Pear, Avacado, Watermelon, Pineapple, Grape, PawPaw, Banana, Soursop, Tangerine, Lemon, Lime, Grape, Mango, Guava, Cucumber, Coconut, African Cherry (Agbalumo), Tomato, Plum, Nectarine

BENEFITS

Cleaner complexion, easy bowel movement, reduced tummy, fast growth of hair and nails, strength

 Daily Log

Day 1/2 (Tuesday, Jan 14)-Bananas Day 3-Apple, Pear, Grape, Pineapple, watermelon, pawpaw Day 4/5-Watermelon, Pineapple Day 6-PawPaw, Pineapple, watermelon Day 7 (Monday)-Watemelon, Pineapple, PawPaw, tomatoes Day 8-Watemelon, Pineapple, PawPaw, Orange, Grape Day 9-Grapes, Pineapple Day 10-Grapes, Pineapple, Cucumber, Orange Day 11-Banana Day 12-Banana Day 13-Avocado, Banana Day 14 (Monday)-Soursop Day 15-Watermelon Day 16-Cucumber Day 17-Mango, Watermelon Day 18-Watermelon Day 19

Tomatoes Day 20-Watermelon, pawpaw, pineapple Day 21 (Monday)-Watermelon, pawpaw, pineapple Day 22-Apple, Watermelon, pawpaw, pineapple Day 23-Watermelon, pawpaw, pineapple Day 24-Pineapple Day 25-African cherry (agbalumo) Day 26-Apple Day 27 (Monday)-Apple Day 28-Apple, banana, orange Day 29-Orange Day 30-Banana Day 31-Banana Day 32-Banana, Pineapple, Watermelon Day 33-Watermelon, Apple, English pear Day 34 (Monday)-Mango, Pineapple, Watermelon, Apple, English pear Day 35-Pineapple, Watermelon, Apple, English pear Day 36-Mango.

My cooking skills – I consider myself an amateur at cooking, not because I can’t cook or something but because I keep learning daily and one can only learn when you do not consider yourself an expert but keep an open mind. I love cooking, contrary to popular belief. I’m just more motivated to cook when I’m not making the food for just myself.

I started my healthy living lifestyle January 2013 and I have to see it has been a good ride so far!! God has been faithful in helping me keep to my resolution of living healthy. I made the decision to revamp my lifestyle at the beginning of the year but I did not put this into action until Jan 14, 2013. These are the things my healthy living lifestyle entails:

• Reading the word daily with my significant other (my bf)

• Cooking More and learning more recipes

• Eating majorly what I cook 

• Eating Fruits Daily

• Eating more vegetables and less carbs

• Washing my face every night (this may be funny to some, but I’ve actually struggled keeping up with this for many years, hopefully once it becomes a habit, I can elevate it to showering before bed)

• Light makeup daily (line my eyes and brows, gloss and powder…I dress like a tomboy too often, so I’m trying to tone that down)

• Getting Early to work

• Staying in touch with my family members and friends

• Keeping a positive attitude

• Speaking less (guard what I say) and 

• Budget my spending

The areas I will be focusing on here is my Cooking and learning new recipes and Eating fruits daily. I may make reference to the other areas occasionally though. I’m going to label all posts regarding the above ‘Amateur Cooking/Healthy Living’ .It’s been 32 days today since I started and I have to say it has been sheer bliss!! 

Here are some tips to how I have made it this far:

1. Involve God in your plan

2. Involve your Significant other in your plan

3. Make no excuses 

4. Make a food timetable

5. Document your progress

6. Don’t Procrastinate

7. Work with what you have (Tools and foodstuff)

8. Work within your budget

9. Plan ahead

10. Join Cooking groups that upload recipes and pictures (For motivation)

11. It’s OK to make mistakes or not know what you are doing at first

12. Google is your friend (Google a recipe, list the ingredients, buy and follow the recipe)

13. Practice makes perfect

14. Improvise

The above have worked for me greatly. We had a small seminar at work titled ‘Trying something new for 30 days’. We watched one of the talks from TedTalks (You can check it out on www.Ted.com) and this was just after my decision to begin a healthy lifestyle. After the seminar, we were told to list the new things we would like to try and I mentioned my ‘Eating fruits daily’ resolution. I have to confess that saying it out has prodded me even longer to keep to my resolution. We were told it takes about 25 to 30 days to create or make a habit. I’l let you know the outcome of mine when I reach the number of days above and if the things I have been trying have become second nature for me. I love cooking and thank God for my significant other’s appetite and love, he allows me cook and experiment on him with my meals (lol). I’mm going to put below a list of the dishes I have made so far, my inventions, the recipes I have used/my modifications to them and loads of pictures for your viewing and entertainment. Enjoy.

Here is a list of dishes I have made from the Month of January till date:

Soups/Stews/Sauces

1. Ogbono

2. Edikaikong, 

3. Ewedu, 

4. Efo-riro, 

5. Tomato/Pepper/Onion blend Stew (Ayamase)

6. Okro (ila alasepo)

7. Parampara sauce (I invented)

8. Egusi (my baby’s fave)

9. Garden egg sauce

10.Mutton Sauce
11.Yoruba stew

Solids,etc (Accompany the Soups/Sauces/Stew)

1. Amala (Cassava flour)

2. Eba (Garri/Cassava grits)

3. Plantain flour

4. Yam flour  

5. Wheat

6. Semovita

Meat/Seafood/

1. Turkey

2. Goat meat

3. Cow beef

4. Chicken 

5. Shrimp

6. Sausages

Spices  

I have found a new love for nutmeg since one of my friends mentioned that she uses it in cooking and I tried it out.

Others

1. Quaker Oats

2. White Rice

3. Pap (Cornstarch)

4. Jollof Sardine Spaghetti 

5. Yam porridge (Asaro)

6. Yam/plantain/spinach combo porridge,

7. Indomie (noodles) with sausage/corned beef

8. Fried rice
9. Jollof rice
10. Yam
11.Plantain

*Eggs and corned beef with bread (made by the ultimate boo of life-my bf)

I will be putting up the recipes for the above in separate posts so this post does not become way too bulky. Here’s a link to a video that also inspired me to keep an eye on the nutritional content of my meals http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmtLCnZe198 .

The aim of my post is to motivate people who have been wanting to jump on the Healthy living lifestyle wagon and have been stalling, to also provide recipes for whoever may be interested in cooking these meals to try them out and experiment and also to keep tab on my progress and make reference to this posts in the future if required. 

Welcome to my kitchen (my bf’s kitchen actually-I prefer to cook at his place than at mine, he's my guinea pig.lol.jk)

Here’s are the major things I have and will be making use of for my cooking:

1. A table gas cooker with only one burner working

2. My beloved apron (from my bf)

3. Small Fridge

Websites/Blogs/Facebook Groups/YouTube Channels, Etc. That I Frequent For Recipes

This is how I google, I type ‘how to make ….’ In the search bar, u can fill the dotted lines with whatever you wanna prepare. I check out like 3-4 of the answers and decide which recipe to go with.There’s so much free resource available to us on the internet!we just need to tap into it

ü  So you think you can cook (FB Page)- https://www.facebook.com/groups/5992014410/?fref=ts

ü  www.allnigerianfoods.com

ü  www.bulkbananas.com

ü  www.schoolofthought.hubpages.com

ü  www.recipesng.blogspot.com
http://www.dooneyskitchen.com/
http://www.9jafoodie.com/
http://afrolems.com/

Toodles!XooX

Cooking is good for the body and soul

I cooked!!yay its been forever since i cooked mehn and it felt good!! almost kinda cleansing. I made two soups Edikaikong and Efo-riro.

I woke up very early and went to meet 2 of my friends at their place to accompany me to the market. I wrote a list while at their place, then withdrew money from the ATM along d way and we got set buying. I have to say going to the Market to buy foodstuff is one of my major issues. Going to the market is stressful!!bargaining and all that. Luckily though we had a barrow boy follow us around and collect watever we bought to keep in his barrow. I bought practically everything, from rice, beans to yam, pasta,sardines,etc. I bought everything i could think off 'cos i had not intentions of visiting the market anytime soon. Luckily again i got a cab before even getting out of the market area, i payed the barrow boy for his service, thanked my friends for following me to the market and told them i'd let them know when the soup was ready so they could come chop!

I got home and carted all my goods to the kitchen, i cleaned out the wardrobe and arranged everything where they should be. The cleaning and arranging took 4eva!! Like i sed i hadn't cooked in a long while :D..anyway i cleaned out the fridge also then set out to preparing ma soups, i was suprised i still remembered how to cook them sef. just as i finished the cooking, my best friend came around, i asked him if he was interested in eating and he said YES!lol.. so i cleaned up the kitchen and made Eba for himself and i 'cos i was starving,i hadnt eaten since i went to the market around 10am and it was already 8pm...I served the food and we started eating, he just kept commenting bout how awesome the food tasted and even i had to admit to myself when i tasted it that i'd done a good job..lol..we enjoyed the meal, watched Kevin Hart's 'Seriously Funny' and relaxed a bit b4 he went home. The silly boy took a pic of the food and put it as his status then wrote 'perfect timing' as his status msg..lol...i felt gud wen i saw it tho...During the week about 3 of ma other male friends ate ma soups and commended it. I also took some of the soup with me when i went to visit my mum and warmed it for dinner for them and my dad and brothers couldn't stop licking their fingers, they even asked for more, alas i brought just one bowl. Its practically finished now and i'm dreading going to the market to get foodstuff to make some other soups.

I'm happy 'cos i've been eating healthy since my market waka and i made other people happy and filled eating my food. Funny enough though my friends that followed me to the market have not been chanced to eat out of it and they are so gonna beef me when i tell them its finished ehn!!lol...make dem no vex...

I should make Efo Elegusi  and Ila Alasepo later sha..i hope i'm chanced to go to the market tho...thanks t my Zaria trips i don't have my weekends to myself, i was able to do the last market runs 'cos it was a Sallah holiday period, so i dint have to go school.

Anyway!!till me next cooking post..toodles!!!xOxO